For so long, the major parties’ immigration policies have been a race to the bottom.

It’s easy to forget that there are still people in our Parliament willing to call out the utter madness of every aspect of this national shame … from moral to legal, financial to transparency.

Senator David Shoebridge, Greens Spokesperson for Immigration, says:

There are no depths Labor won’t explore to outflank the Coalition on the right on immigration. The cornerstone of our entire legal system, natural justice, has just been smashed by the Albanese Government.

Mandatory detention, offshore detention, preventing people who sought asylum by sea from resettling, a Trump-style travel ban and now laws that can deny natural justice, this is Labor’s legacy. It’s a legacy that deliberately undermines multiculturalism and fairness.

When Labor makes laws that say some people who were not born here are denied basic legal rights, that feeds the far-right extremism we saw at anti-immigration rallies over the last weekend.

Australia should be treating our neighbours with respect, not bribing them to become a 21st century penal colony. The Pacific can see how Australia bullies and bribes its neighbours.

Failing to treat our neighbours as friends and equals comes at a cost, and is a long-term threat
to Australia’s political and moral leadership in the Pacific.